Top Tips: Three Keys to Innervate Your Team
Q: How can I get my team to follow my lead, rather than just nod in agreement?
A: Your team wants to know why they should follow your lead? Don't tell them; show them, by focusing on the essential, not the merely important. The three keys to innovative leadership, according to G. Michael Maddock and Ralph Louis Viton in a recent BusinessWeek article, are:
1. Focus on the essentials:
Great leaders focus on the essential rather than the important. It's easy to spend your time on the important, but doing so isn't really going to inspire anyone.
2. Stay above the drama:
Recessions/transitions/restructurings are by definition temporary. Understanding that is key to your ability to focus on the desired outcome and the kind of organisation you want to build.
3. Lean into adversity and find opportunities:
Adversity isn't going to end just because the recession does. There will always be a competitor who does the unexpected, or an environmental event you couldn't anticipate. Or, for example, a situation like that financing you were absolutely certain was locked in, suddenly isn't.
Showing posts with label working in British Columbia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label working in British Columbia. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Avoiding the "Overqualified" Label
Most hospitality candidates preparing for a job interview worry about whether they'll be able to come off as experienced, educated, and a personality "fit" enough to make a positive impression on hotel and restaurant corporate managers. But job seekers with substantial schooling or a lengthy work history often face the opposite problem.
Highly qualified candidates in the industry are sometimes forced to grapple with the stigma of being labeled “overqualified.” Often, hiring managers who encounter an applicant with a bounty of education or experience fear that they will be unable to meet the candidate’s salary requirements or other job expectations.
Having recruited in the industry for many years, I've come to understand people have various life/work factors where an "overqualified" candidate will apply for a less senior role with full awareness of a change in salary, work hours, work expectations, and work environment. These various factors, such as a new child in the home, relocation to a smaller community, downsizing to have more free time, are motivating factors that come to outweigh the step down.
According to human resources and staffing consultant Ken Gaffey, the phrase “overqualified” is often a code word that hiring managers use to express concern about a candidate’s fitness for the position. In order to get past the “overqualified” stigma and land your dream job, you have to be able to discern the true source of the hiring manager’s hesitation -- and then move in to neutralize it. These tips can help you move past the overqualified label and sail to success in your next interview:
1. Address the situation directly.
If there’s a special reason why you’re in the market for a lower-level position, it might help to discuss it upfront. For example, if you’re looking to establish yourself in a new field, or if you want to reduce your work schedule, let the hiring manager know.
2. Put your skill set front and center.
A great way to dodge the overqualified label is to take the focus off of your career path as a whole, and instead emphasize the skills and abilities you’ve picked up along the way. The functional résumé format – which job search gurus often recommend to recent grads and inexperienced jobseekers – may be the best option for highly qualified candidates, as well.
3. Signal your flexibility on salary.
One of the major reasons hiring managers shy away from highly experienced candidates is the perception that their salary expectations will be out of line with the position. If you recognize the difference in salary for the position you're applying, let the hiring manager know from the get-go how your expectations fit their range. Emphasize your unique value to the organization.
4. Make it clear that personality won’t be a problem.
The hiring manager may be worried that you won’t be able to work effectively alongside less-experienced peers. To allay these concerns, choose answers that will help you cast yourself as a humble team player who can get along well with people from all walks of life.
5. Let them know you’re in it for the long haul.
It’s often assumed that highly qualified candidates are just looking for a temporary job to tide them over until something better comes along. Leave no doubt that you intend to dedicate yourself long-term in your new role and that the company values speak to your professional goals and how you can help them achieve sucess.
Like many obstacles you’ll face in your job search, being “overqualified” is only a problem if you don’t take the opportunity to turn it around to your advantage! By carefully highlighting your skills and thinking strategically about ways to minimize the potential for problems, you’ll be able to turn this perceived liability into a strength.
For those "overqualified" candidates that have been on a long-term career path and now searching for a new position, you might want to hone your interview skills with our free Online Interview Prep Course. Email us to set up access at info@targetprofessionals.com.
Highly qualified candidates in the industry are sometimes forced to grapple with the stigma of being labeled “overqualified.” Often, hiring managers who encounter an applicant with a bounty of education or experience fear that they will be unable to meet the candidate’s salary requirements or other job expectations.
Having recruited in the industry for many years, I've come to understand people have various life/work factors where an "overqualified" candidate will apply for a less senior role with full awareness of a change in salary, work hours, work expectations, and work environment. These various factors, such as a new child in the home, relocation to a smaller community, downsizing to have more free time, are motivating factors that come to outweigh the step down.
According to human resources and staffing consultant Ken Gaffey, the phrase “overqualified” is often a code word that hiring managers use to express concern about a candidate’s fitness for the position. In order to get past the “overqualified” stigma and land your dream job, you have to be able to discern the true source of the hiring manager’s hesitation -- and then move in to neutralize it. These tips can help you move past the overqualified label and sail to success in your next interview:
1. Address the situation directly.
If there’s a special reason why you’re in the market for a lower-level position, it might help to discuss it upfront. For example, if you’re looking to establish yourself in a new field, or if you want to reduce your work schedule, let the hiring manager know.
2. Put your skill set front and center.
A great way to dodge the overqualified label is to take the focus off of your career path as a whole, and instead emphasize the skills and abilities you’ve picked up along the way. The functional résumé format – which job search gurus often recommend to recent grads and inexperienced jobseekers – may be the best option for highly qualified candidates, as well.
3. Signal your flexibility on salary.
One of the major reasons hiring managers shy away from highly experienced candidates is the perception that their salary expectations will be out of line with the position. If you recognize the difference in salary for the position you're applying, let the hiring manager know from the get-go how your expectations fit their range. Emphasize your unique value to the organization.
4. Make it clear that personality won’t be a problem.
The hiring manager may be worried that you won’t be able to work effectively alongside less-experienced peers. To allay these concerns, choose answers that will help you cast yourself as a humble team player who can get along well with people from all walks of life.
5. Let them know you’re in it for the long haul.
It’s often assumed that highly qualified candidates are just looking for a temporary job to tide them over until something better comes along. Leave no doubt that you intend to dedicate yourself long-term in your new role and that the company values speak to your professional goals and how you can help them achieve sucess.
Like many obstacles you’ll face in your job search, being “overqualified” is only a problem if you don’t take the opportunity to turn it around to your advantage! By carefully highlighting your skills and thinking strategically about ways to minimize the potential for problems, you’ll be able to turn this perceived liability into a strength.
For those "overqualified" candidates that have been on a long-term career path and now searching for a new position, you might want to hone your interview skills with our free Online Interview Prep Course. Email us to set up access at info@targetprofessionals.com.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Hospitality Employees Market in the West?
A very happy and prosperous 2009 to everyone.
Just when hospitality job seekers in the West thought they were sitting in the catbird seat, along came our current economic downard dive (not to be confused with Yoga's Downward Dog). This should server as a correction to the employee's advantage. From a recruiter's perspective, it was interesting to see how people on both the employer and employee side handled the change from an employers market to an employees one.
As you might expect, many candidates relished in the turn of events and some employers resisted the new shift in power. Although I found most people I dealt with strove to be reasonable and practical, some hiring situations became comical with a resistant employer on one side and an overarching candidate on the other. Only comical after the fact of course!
It's been difficult as a recruiter to deal with people who take an unreasonable position, whether that be a candidate that expects the sun and moon or an employer who wants capable and experienced candidates but refuses to acknowledge the need to better accomodate them. Difficult, because I don't always want to be diplomatic with people who are wasting my time.
I won't detail my experience with "bad" employees and employers but focus on the good. A few stellar candidates sitting in the catbird seat displayed the most generous and noble spirits and didn't think to try and capitalize on the situation and push for everything they ever dreamed of from an employer. A few innovators on the employer side invested time and money to understand the hiring situation and truly approach candidates with flexibility, an open mind, and as real people with lives outside work.
To close, I must emphasis another positive side, which is my preferred view. I learned a lot about many candidates and some employers where I would otherwise would not have had the opportunity. Even better, I have had the happy circumstance of being able to keep notes on all good and bad behaviour in my little black book!
May you all reach the heights of success and prosperity in 2009!
Just when hospitality job seekers in the West thought they were sitting in the catbird seat, along came our current economic downard dive (not to be confused with Yoga's Downward Dog). This should server as a correction to the employee's advantage. From a recruiter's perspective, it was interesting to see how people on both the employer and employee side handled the change from an employers market to an employees one.
As you might expect, many candidates relished in the turn of events and some employers resisted the new shift in power. Although I found most people I dealt with strove to be reasonable and practical, some hiring situations became comical with a resistant employer on one side and an overarching candidate on the other. Only comical after the fact of course!
It's been difficult as a recruiter to deal with people who take an unreasonable position, whether that be a candidate that expects the sun and moon or an employer who wants capable and experienced candidates but refuses to acknowledge the need to better accomodate them. Difficult, because I don't always want to be diplomatic with people who are wasting my time.
I won't detail my experience with "bad" employees and employers but focus on the good. A few stellar candidates sitting in the catbird seat displayed the most generous and noble spirits and didn't think to try and capitalize on the situation and push for everything they ever dreamed of from an employer. A few innovators on the employer side invested time and money to understand the hiring situation and truly approach candidates with flexibility, an open mind, and as real people with lives outside work.
To close, I must emphasis another positive side, which is my preferred view. I learned a lot about many candidates and some employers where I would otherwise would not have had the opportunity. Even better, I have had the happy circumstance of being able to keep notes on all good and bad behaviour in my little black book!
May you all reach the heights of success and prosperity in 2009!
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